The Augustinians were the first missionaries in the Philippines and the caretakers of the miraculous image since 1565.

The nation has started the countdown to the 500th year commemoration of Catholicism in the Philippines as Cebu City begins the final preparations for the first baptism in front of the historical Magellan’s Cross today.

Archbishop Jose Palma will preside over the 6 a.m. Eucharistic celebration to mark the start of commemorating the acceptance of Christianity by natives of early Cebu.

A statement from the Augustinian friary said Palma will also lead the blessing of the Tindalo Cross, a replica of Magellan’s Cross, planted by Portuguese and Spanish explorers as ordered by Ferdinand Magellan upon arriving in Cebu on the 16th or 17th of March 1521.

“The Tindalo Cross, which will be named the 2021 Jubilee Cross, will be visiting 500 parishes of the Archdiocese of Cebu and other dioceses of the country, together with the pilgrim image of the Señor Santo Niño de Cebu,” it said.

Fr. Aladdin Luzon, chairman of the Santo Niño at 500 Committee, said a foot procession passing through P. Burgos Street going to the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral — the first church that will be visited by the 2021 Jubilee Cross — will follow after the Mass.

The Augustinian friars also announced that regular Masses at the Basilica Minore del Santo Niño de Cebu will not be celebrated to give way to the opening salvo.

A road closure will be implemented on the Osmeña Boulevard and P. Burgos Street corridor that will start at 4 a.m. on the day of the celebration to ensure the security and safety of the clerics and the faithful who will flock to the basilica for the kick-off activity.

“This milestone is in collaboration with the Augustinian friars of the Order of St. Augustine Province of Santo Niño de Cebu-Philippines,” the statement read.

The Augustinians were the first missionaries in the Philippines and the caretakers of the miraculous image since 1565. It was on 14 April 1521 when the first baptism was celebrated in the Philippines, according to the accounts of Venetian chronicler Antonio Pigafetta.

The government’s National Quincentennial Committee (NQC) had mapped out plans for the Philippine contribution to the global celebration of Magellan’s circumnavigation of the world by retelling the stories of victory and humanity of Filipino ancestors, headed by Lapu-Lapu who was the first Filipino hero to conquer a Western invader.

President Rodrigo Duterte earlier questioned the country’s participation in the event giving tribute to Magellan whose travel to the country started the more than 300 years of Spain’s colonization.

He said there is no reason to be festive about the anniversary of the start of the country’s conquest.

“I was asked (to hold) a commemoration for the 500 years since they arrived here. I answered, ‘Why would I celebrate the arrival of the Spanish here? Why would I?’” the President said.

The Portuguese explorer was killed by islanders in the Philippines two years into the journey, leaving Spaniard Juan Sebastian Elcano to complete the three-year trip. But it is Magellan’s name that is forever associated with the voyage.

“It’s all about religion,” the President said about the Magellan voyage. “When Magellan arrived there, he brought with him cannons and a cross. So, we became Christians. We didn’t have a religion back then,” Mr. Duterte averred.

The President, however, later on yielded when the celebration was adjusted into commemorating Lapu-Lapu’s heroism.

Officials, however, said it would be a tough challenge to gather information about Filipino ancestors including Lapu-Lapu since historians then were mostly those who had accompanied the Portuguese explorer.

Presidential Communications Operations Office Assistant Secretary Ramon Cualoping III, chief brand integrator of the PCOO, said the country’s celebration for the 500th anniversary of the Magellan expedition will zero in on the Victory of Mactan.